Of Stress and Love
by anabundanceofnifflers
Summary: A tale in which Lily is stressed, and James is in love. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Lily Evans was sitting at a table covered with scattered papers of complex diagrams, scribbled notes, and a half dozen books.

James Potter was sitting across the common room, staring as Lily frantically searched for the right paper. James had been watching her out of the corner of his eye for the last several hours as he sat talking with his best mates: Sirius, Remus, and Peter, or Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail. In this span of time, James was able to conclude that Lily looked worn out and tired. The weeks of always going and never stopping were finally beginning to catch up to her. Between Head Girl duties, studying for N.E.W.T.s, and the coursework for all of the classes she was taking, there wasn't much time for her to enjoy herself. As far as he saw, she never once took a brief moment to relax. Not so much as a single second to stretch her legs or crack her back. He knew she hadn't gone down to dinner and was about to see if she would go down to the kitchens with him when he remembered he didn't have any control over the matter. It was highly unlikely that she would accept to go anywhere with him. She _detested_ him.

As the weeks progressed, James watched as Lily spent her evenings in the same way. She didn't eat dinner, she hardly talked to her friends, she did nothing but study. Her emerald eyes had lost their wonderful, magnificent sparkle, and had gained dark purple bags beneath. He decided he didn't care if he didn't have the right to make her take a break. He was going to force her to.

James got up and walked over to the working red head. Several people watched him as he did so, expecting to see another infamous James Potter/Lily Evans row. Lily didn't look up as his shadow fell across the book she was reading. He cleared his throat. She still didn't look up. Lily didn't seem to have heard him, because she was so immersed in her book.

"Lily," James said.

"Hmm?" she replied, still without looking up. She obviously hadn't registered whom it was, or she wouldn't have responded quite so calmly... or at all.

"Uh, Lily? Do you think that maybe you need to take a break?" he awkwardly suggested.

Lily ignored the question. Whether it was because she didn't hear, or because she just didn't want to answer was unknown. Figuring it was the only way to attract her attention, James yelled at the top of his voice, "Lily! You need a break!"

She jumped out of her chair from fright and glared at James.

"Potter, I'm trying to concentrate," she said, blowing her hair out of her face. "I know this might be difficult to comprehend with such a miniscule brain, but please try," Lily enunciated slowly, as if talking to a three-year-old.

"Darling, I know what it means to concentrate. That's not what you're doing. You're wearing yourself ragged. Take a break, it's one night. It's not going to kill you!"

"It very well may, James Potter. I take one night off now and pretty soon I'm taking one night off every week. That's hundreds of hours lost by the time N.E. are here! Then, I go into my N.E. unprepared and fail them all. Nobody will want to hire me, so I'll have to live on the streets, begging for knuts just to get by. After a time, this takes its toll, and I die a slow, excruciating death by starvation because I wasn't able to scrounge up enough sickles to buy myself a sandwich. And when that happens, you can just blame yourself! I hope you can bear having my death on your conscience," she ended dramatically.

James bursted out laughing, causing several girls in the crowd watching them to sigh with longing. When he had regained his control he said, "You cannot actually think that. You already know it all anyway. If you were to die, it'd be more likely to be from studying all night and day," James said. "Or," he added darkly, "at the hands of Voldemort."

At the mention of Voldemort, Lily visibly paled, along with many of the people listening in on the conversation. Voldemort was steadily gaining power, killing people left and right.

James immediately realized his mistake in mentioning Voldemort and said, "Hell. Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you frightened."

Lily started picking up her things. "Don't worry about it," she said as she walked calmly up to her dormitory room.

* * *

"Piss. Piss. Piss. Padfoot! Piss, what should I do? I really messed that up. Piss!" James exclaimed.

"Start with stop saying piss. I believe it's the swear word of choice for first years. At least try mixing it up a bit. It's embarrassing to be seen with somebody who can't say "fuck" without blushing," Sirius proclaimed.

"I could say fuck if I wanted to," James replied, a telltale pink tinge creeping up his face. "It's just that my mother says it's uncouth and not acceptable in proper company."

"Since when have I been proper company? I reckon you're just too much of a ninny to say it," Padfoot said.

"Ninny? Honestly? I can't believe you just called me a ninny. Of all the insults out there, you choose ninny? I believe that's the insult of choice for a four-year-old. Seriously though, mate. Should I go apologize to Lily? I need your advice here!"

"I dunno, Prongs. I suppose. What could it hurt?" he supplied, turning to watch an intense game of wizard chess between Remus and Peter.

"Yeah! Exactly! What could it hurt?" James said, encouraging himself.

* * *

They soon found out precisely what it could hurt when James came back from yelling up the girls' staircase. It took a moment for Sirius to realize what was causing everybody to fall silent as James passed. Until he noticed that James' eyebrows seemed to be growing exponentially fast.

"Padfoot! Make it stop! Fix them!" James bellowed.

Sirius jumped up to help his friend, toppling Remus' and Peter's chessboard as he did so. By the time Sirius reached James, he was stumbling around, unable to see due to his massive eyebrows.

"Sirius?! This is NOT funny! Help me!"

"Hold on! Do you know the counterspell?" Sirius asked.

"Do I LOOK like I know the counterspell? Do you think I would not have performed the bloody counterspell if I knew what it was?!" he yelled.

"Moony!" Sirius said, looking to Remus. "Do you know the counterspell?"

Unfortunately, Remus was too busy rolling around on the floor, hysterically laughing, to help.

"Piss! Prongs, I think I'm going to have to lead you to the Hospital Wing," Padfoot said.

"Piss? did you truly just say piss after berating me for using the word?" James questioned, his head bent from the weight of his eyebrows.

"James! We don't have time for this!" Sirius said pressingly. "Your eyebrows will be past your knees if we don't hurry up. I doubt Lily will find you very attractive then!"

"What are you waiting for?! Lead me!" James demanded.

"I'm trying to! Oh, COME ONE!" Sirius said, yanking on James' arm, causing him to stumble over the rug.

"You're supposed to be my mate, Padfoot! This isn't funny!" James said. The people in the Gryffindor common room obviously disagreed. The majority not only found it funny, but immensely hilarious.

"We would be there if you weren't such a dunderhead!" he informed James while pulling him up.

Once they were out of the common room, the journey to the Hospital Wing went rather smooth. Well, aside from Sirius hexing a passing fifth year for laughing at James.

As soon as as they arrived, Sirius explained the situation to Madame Promfrey, because James' eyebrows were well past his collarbone, inhibiting his ability to speak. Thankfully, Madame Promfrey was able to restore James' eyebrows right away. As James was leaving, she told him, "Don't worry, Mr. Potter. Miss Evans will come around eventually."

_A.N- Thanks for reading! I'll (hopefully) be updating soon! This story could be better, but hey! I'm working with what I've got! I love compliments and critiques equally, so please tell me what I'm doing right/wrong. ;D _

_On a different note, I had to edit it to fix my page breaks. Hopefully the format is better now!_


	2. Chapter 2

The next evening found Lily working in the Gryffindor common room, as usual. It also found James watching her overwork herself.

"Padfoot, what do ya think? Should I go over there and try talking to her again?" James asked.

"Did you really just ask that? Do you not remember what happened yesterday when you tried that? Perhaps you've already forgotten your four-foot long eyebrows, but it'll be years before the rest of us do," his friend replied through a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

"Swallow before you talk," Remus chastised his with a scandalized look, which Sirius ignored.

"No," James answered to Sirius. "I haven't forgotten the incident last night. I simply believe that Lily is worth all the jinxes. At least she got a laugh out of it. Something she hardly does otherwise. What do you think, Moony?"

"When has anybody's opinion ever mattered to you concerning Lily, Prongs? You know you're going to do what you want in the end, so just get on with it," Remus supplied in a bored tone.

"I reckon you're right. I'm going to go talk to her," James announced, getting up from the couch.

"Fine then. Do you know where Peter is?" Sirius huffed.

"He said something about going to the library to finish an essay," Remus informed him.

"I believe I'm going to join him. Want to come, Moony?"

"I suppose," he answered, standing up.

As the two men walked out of the portrait hole, the other walked over to where Lily Evans was studying.

"Hey, Lily," James greeted, shifting aside some parchment so he could sit on the chair across from her.

"What?" she asked, swiftly glancing up.

"Listen, I'm really, truly, sincerely, honestly sorry about being such a prat yesterday. I just wanted you to know."

She stared into his eyes, trying to determine whether he was lying or not. Apparently she decided he was being truthful, because she nodded her head and said, "I'm sorry, as well. I probably should n't have hexed you."

"Yeah, probably not," he agreed. Then went on to inquire, "So, what're you doing?"

"I would have thought that it was rather obvious that I'm studying. Or I was before you came over," she said obstinately.

"Exactly. I thought we had decided that you were going to take a break from studying, Evans," he said. He glanced down at the papers scattered over the table. There were at least six different assignments spread about.

"Oh, we're addressing each other by surnames once again, are we?"

"Nope. Just checking your skills of observation," he clarified.

"Ah. Lovely. Now, if you would please excuse me, Potter, I've got work to do," Lily announced, looking back at her parchment.

"I'm afraid that I can't do that, dear."

"I recommend scramming before I curse you, James," she said wearily.

"Oh, so we're back to addressing each other by forenames, are we?" he inquired, smiling lightly.

"Nope. Just checking your skills of observation," Lily said, reiterating his previous words.

Truly smiling now, James said, "So, you do listen to me when I'm talking to youཀ"

"Don't let it go to your head. If I don't listen to you, how am I supposed to know when to insult you?" she countered.

James, still grinning, said, "That's a nice cover you've got going there. We all know you _looooove _me. And that's that number one reason why you listen."

Lily threw down her quill, put a guilty look on her face, held up her hands in an "Oh, drats. You caught me" sort of way. Sarcastically, she said, "You know me too well, James. You saw right through my disguise. I absolutely adore you, you dashing lad."

James raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Thank you, Merlinཀ The words I've been waiting to hear my entire life have finally been spokenཀ"

Lily laughed at his ridiculous behavior. James beamed at her. "So, are you ready to accept my marriage proposal yet?"

She chuckled again, slowly shaking her head, and turned back to work. Rather than wandering away after being brushed aside, James simply sat and admired her, which, for once, Lily didn't seem to mind.

The people watching James and Lily were in shock. The two had been conversing with each other for a record amount of time, and no wands had been drawn. That was certainly not normal. Where were the screams? Where were the jinxes? One gossipy girl could be heard telling her friend, "Lily Evan likes James Potter. Just look at them. It's so obvious."

A few minutes later, Lily decided to call it an early night. After telling James this, she went up the stairs to her dormitory. James watched the fiery redhead walk away with a feeling of success. In those few moments her eyes had started to glimmer again. Plus, she had gone to bed early, meaning she was going to get a decent nights sleep, which would hopefully remove the bags from under her enchanting eyes. His next mission was to make her quit skipping meals to study.

_A.N- This is short and lame, but I needed some form of transition from "James Potter suckzzzz" Lily to "James Potter is the love of my life" Lily, or whatnot. xD I should be updating quickly. Thank you for reading__ཀ __P.S.- I must add, I do enjoy reviews. I hope you aren't offended by subtlety. ;D_


	3. Chapter 3

James was walking into the common room through the portrait of the Fat Lady after classes on Friday. He instantly looked to the left where Lily always sat at a table doing her studies. Today was no different. She was quickly and steadily writing on a piece of parchment. He walked the distance that separated them and said, "Hey".

"Hello, James," she responded, looking up to meet his eyes.

"What're you doing?" he asked as he shifted aside several books so he could sit down on the chair beside her.

"I would have thought it would have been quite easy to decipher that I am doing homework," Lily said, slowly turning back to her parchment.

"Funnily enough, I realized that. What _assignment _are you doing?" he inquired.

Without looking up, or slowing the furious speed of her writing, she replied, "Care of Magical Creatures".

James watched her red hair brush the parchment as she bent her head in concentration. Cautiously he asked, "Why are you doing it now? You have all weekend to complete it."

Testily, she set down her quill and stared him in the eyes. "I'm doing it now because I'm planning on going to Hogsmeade tomorrow. That means I have to have everything that would normally have taken me two nights completed tonight."

Nervousness enveloped James. It was like a sudden punch in the gut. She was going to Hogsmeade. Did that mean she had a date? Or was she simply going with her friends? Figuring it would eat him alive until he found out, he chose to inquire, "So, who are you, er, going to Hogsmeade with?"

"Just with Mary," she muttered.

A rush of relief swept through James. It was fine. She didn't have a boyfriend. He had a chance still. Nonchalantly, he asked, "Lily, would you like to go down to dinner with me?"

"Sorry, James. I really can't. I have a lot to finish up tonight," she said, staring at him apologetically.

"Oh, yeah. Okay. I'll just, erm, see you later then," he said before he scooted his chair back and stood up.

As he was walking out of the common room he thought positively, "Well, that certainly went better than it could have. At least she didn't jinx me."

* * *

He scanned the Gryffindor table as he walked into the Great Hall. Once he spotted Remus and Peter, he wandered over to them

"Hey, Moony, Wormatail."

Each greeted him briefly before continuing on with their previous conversation.

James half listened as Remus said, "No, Peter. Unicorns would easily defeat thestrals if it came down to it."

"Moony, just listen to my argument. If a…" Peter began before being interrupted by Remus. "Honestly, Wormtail. There isn't an argument for it! Unicorns are one of the most magical creatures! We don't use thestral hairs in our wands, do we? No, because unicorns are better! Not to mention, they're dead fast, so they could easily outrun thestrals if need be."

James completely tuned them out and turned his thoughts to Lily. She was gradually coming around, he thought. They had been able to have two conversations during which she hadn't raised her voice a single time. Maybe she was finally beginning to realize that he wasn't the arrogant prat she had always thought him to be.

He was brought back to reality with a jolt when Sirius slapped him on the back of the head and said, "Oi! Are you listening to me?"

James rubbed his head and asked, "When did you get here?"

To the room at large, Sirius said, "Did you hear that, everyone? 'When did you get here?', 'When did you get here,' he asks". When he noticed that nobody was paying him the slightest bit of attention he mumbled, "I just got here a few seconds ago."

"Padfoot," said James, "you are the oddest creature, I swear".

"Er, no you don't… Swear that is. Do try and recall the conversation we had several nights ago. I believe the topic was 'James can't say fuck without blushing', but I may be incorrect." Sirius paused for a moment before continuing, "Just kidding. I'm never incorrect." He winked before heaping a pile of mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"Shut up, Sirius," James replied before joining in on Remus and Peter's debate. "Sorry, Wormtail, but I have to go with Moony on this one. Unicorns would easily win in a battle against thestrals."

Sirius having to put in his own two knuts worth said, "Yeah, but what if none of the unicorns had never seen death, eh? Then they wouldn't be able to see the thestrals. Giving the thestrals a huge advantage."

"My point exactly!" Peter exclaimed.

The four continued their friendly dispute for the rest of the meal. In the end, Remus and James chose to give up and agree to Sirius and Peter for the sake of ending the discussion. As the foursome stood up, James said, "Hold on a second." He grabbed a plate and stated piling food onto it. Sirius asked, "Er, James, mate. What are you doing?"

"I'm clearly getting a plate, you foot."

Astonished, Remus said, "But how can you still be hungry. You've already had three slices of meatloaf, a heap of potatoes, and two servings of treacle tart. I know you're a growing boy, but this is just ridiculous!"

"First off," James remarked, " I am a man, not a boy. Second, I can't believe you pay that much attention to what goes into my stomach. Finally, it's for Lily, not me."

"Of course it's for Lily. Duh, Moony," Sirius said as the group began exiting the Great Hall.

"Shut your mouth, Padfoot. You asked what he was doing, too!"

"That's because I didn't want to make you look stupid," he explained.

"Yeah. Uh-huh," Remus sarcastically agreed.

Sirius, knowing he was being patronized said, "I appreciate you being so mature and not stopping to forms of humor below your level of intelligence. Sarcasm, for instance."

"Oh, har har. Aren't you a witty one."

With a grin, Sirius replied, "Why thank you, Mister Moony. I must agree with you on that point. Though, between you and me, I do try quite hard. It's not as easy as it seems, being me."

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it's not really a secret. I'm quite sure the rest of them have noticed how hard you try," Remus informed him.

"Bugger. Really? I truly thought I was masking it quite well," Sirius joked.

"You two do realize that you're the only ones who find this banter funny, right?" James cut in.

"Prongs, why so hostile? There is no need for that kind of attitude. You're disrupting the harmony of this hallway with your negativity," Sirius managed to say with a straight face before busting into peals of laughter.

By the time they had reached the canvas of the Fat Lady, the conversation had turned toward their upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. "Really, I think it'll be an easy win. I mean, Tom Gunder is terrible. He makes the entire team awful. He can't guard a goal to save his life," Sirius said as they walked into the Common Room.

"I'm going to take Lily her plate," James cut in quickly before he walked over to her.

"Hey, Lily," he said quietly as he approached her.

She looked up, smiling slightly, causing James' heart rate to increase significantly.

"Well, this is good," he thought to himself. "She actually smiled when she saw me. I've made definite headway since the beginning of the year."

"Hey," she replied, interrupting his thoughts.

"I brought you this," he said as he set down the plate of food. "I mean, a working girl needs to eat. Since you said you were busy and all, I figured if you couldn't go down to the food, I could bring the food to you…"

Lily looked at him with gratitude, and maybe something like astonishment in her eyes.

"Thanks," she said, beaming up at him. "I really appreciate it. I haven't had dinner in ages because I've been so busy. It's very sweet of you."

"Anytime," James said, grinning as he began turning away.

As he walked across the Common Room to sit with the Marauders, he glanced back at her. She was eating while simultaneously writing on her parchment. He smiled and shook his head. She really was an overachiever.

_AN- I'm quite unsure about this chapter. No matter. I hope you at least enjoyed it._


	4. Chapter 4

James woke early the next day, before any of this dorm mates. He was hoping to run into Lily and see if she would accompany him to Hogsmeade and he wanted to look his best. Once considered himself to be dashing enough, he woke the other Marauder's and waited impatiently while they got ready.

"Why did you get ready so early if you're only going to sit there and tap your foot? You should expect to wait if you're going to get ready at the crack of dawn," Remus said after getting annoyed with James's constant sighs, foot tappings, and glances at his watch. In return, he received a death glare from James.

By 8:30, the boys were walking out of their dormitory to head to breakfast. Once James stepped foot into the Great Hall, he began craning his neck looking for Lily. "Prongs, you're not even going to Hogsmeade with her today. I don't understand why you're trying to find her. In fact, I bet she's still in bed like a sane person would be at 8:30 on a Saturday morning," Sirius said.

"Maybe, but I have this plan," James responded. Each of the other boys groaned as he continued. "I'm hoping to go to Hogsmeade with her today, you see. I'll enhance my chances if we sit close to her because she'll see us having fun, then she'll want to have fun, too. So, she'll come up to me as she's leaving and say, "James, do you maybe want to join me in Hogsmeade today?"" he said in a high pitched voice accompanied with much fluttering of his eyelashes before adding in normal tones, "It's a foolproof plan, really!"

"Yeah, it's foolproof so long as she wants to go to Hogsmeade with you," Remus logically pointed out.

"Oh, shut up. You're being a buzz kill, Moony," James responded with a grin to show he wasn't actually angry.

James abruptly stopped walking when he spotted Lily, causing Peter to stumble into him. Casually, James continued walking and sat down near Lily, the Marauders following closely behind him.

As the boys began dishing food onto their plates James explained his plan. "Here's what is going to happen. I'm going to tell you a joke, and you're all going to laugh extremely hard. Then, she'll notice what a funny bloke I am, and come over for a chat!"

"Prongs, mate. She's known you for seven years. I think she's probably already noticed that you're a funny bloke," Sirius said with his mouth full of bacon.

"Seriously, get some tact, Padfoot. You don't chew with your mouth full. It's rude and disgusting," Remus told him as a disgruntled expression took place on his face.

"Shut up, Moony," Sirius replied as he usually did when Remus commented on his table manners.

"Hello! I'm supposed to be telling you a joke! You're supposed to be laughing. You men are helpless," James announced.

"Hey, now. Insulting us won't get you what you want. Tell your joke and be quick about it," Sirius said with his mouth full to spite Remus.

"Damn it, Padfoot. What did I just..." Remus started before James cut in with, "Okay, so. A wizard was just sent to Azkaban because he stole his neighbor's hip. His neighbor's name was Griff. He stole the hip o' griff!"

Suffice to say, nobody laughed.

After a moment, Peter said, "You do realize that isn't the least bit funny, right?"

"That's because you didn't understand, Wormtail. He stole the hip o' Griff. Like hippogriff. Do you get it now?" James inquired.

"Er, did you make that up on your own?" Sirius asked with polite curiosity.

James blushed, "No. My dad told it to me. I thought it was kind of funny."

"That's the least funny thing I've ever heard in the entirety of my life, and I grew up with people who found beheading house elves funny," Sirius proclaimed.

From behind them a voice said, "Don't worry. I thought it was funny, James."

All four boys turned to see Lily Evans along with her friends Mary and Alice.

James's heart gave a nervous flutter before he casually said, "Thank you, Lily!" Then he turned back to Sirius and said, "You see, you just don't have the right sense of humor."

Turning to Lily he asked, "Are you still going to Hogsmeade today?"

"Erm, yeah. I'm leaving now, actually," she answered. She glanced at Mary and Alice who had started walking away towards the Entrance Hall.

Ever so nonchalantly, James said, "Oh, wicked. Maybe we'll see you there."

She replied, "Yeah, maybe. Bye, James!" before hurrying to catch up with Mary and Alice.

"Wow. Nicely done, mate. She didn't yell at you or anything! What did you put in her drink?" Sirius joked.

Pleased and slightly amazed at having another fine conversation with Lily he responded, "Surprisingly, nothing."

"Well, I think this calls for a toast," Sirius announced. He raised his glass of orange juice and said, "To James. For having the truly magnificent capability and spirit to pester Evans until she decided to no longer hate you! You've faced challenges, and you've defeated them. You waged a war, internally and externally for years. You, my dear, dear friend, are a true hero to all of mankind." Chuckling at Sirius's absurdness, the Marauders clinked glasses.

_AN- I was in the mood for a quick, short update. Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

In an attempt the keep the cold out, the Marauders were huddled deeply into their cloaks as they walked towards Hogsmeade. Simultaneously, they were discussing what shops they wanted to visit. Or rather, Sirius was telling them exactly what they were going to do. "This is the game plan, fellas. First, we go to Zonko's and stock up, then we head on over to Honeyduke's. After that, I suggest getting a butterbeer in the The Three Broom-," "Hey, Sirius," a Ravenclaw sixth year interrupted.

Sirius turned to look at the girl, and replied, "Hey, Joanne. How're you?"

"Oh, I'm just marvelous," she gushed. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me in Hogsmeade?"

"Sure," he replied with a quick grin.

James, Peter and Remus stared at him. After specifically dictating their schedule for today, he was just going to leave them for a girl.

Sirius turned to meet their accusing eyes and said, "I'll meet up with you later, mates." He winked before walking away with Joanne.

After a moment of blank silence, during which they each gaped at the couples' retreating form, Peter said, "I can't believe that just happened."

Slightly affronted, Remus mumbled, "What a prat. I can't believe he just ditched us."

"Well, I suppose... Do you guys want to go to Zonko's?" James asked the group. "I could use some more Dungbombs," he added.

"James Potter. I did not just hear you say that you were going to buy Dungbombs."

James whipped around. Standing directly behind him was none other than Lily, the Head Girl.

With a guilty look, he said, "Er, no. You did not hear such a thing. In fact, even considering the idea is simply preposterous."

"I have this odd feeling that I'm being lied to right now," Lily grinned.

"Frankly, Lily, I can't explain why you would feel that way. I'm a _very _honest man. I would never lie to you," James told her.

Upon hearing that, both Peter and Remus snorted.

Lily raised an eye brow. "Huh. I'm still getting the feeling like I'm being lied to."

"Okay, so I _may_ have said that I was going to buy Dungbombs. However, I wasn't ever going to use them. How would that look, the Head Boy disregarding the rules? It would cause an uprising of miscreants everywhere!" James exclaimed.

Laughing, Lily said, "And now I have the feeling I'm being pacified."

"You're just a little ball of feelings today, aren't you?" James remarked.

"Yes, I reckon I am," she answered.

"And is it possible that one of that feelings would be interested in wandering around Hogsmeade with me today?" he asked hopefully.

Reluctantly, she said, "I'm sorry, James. I told Mary and Alice that I would spend the day with them. I haven't had the chance to talk to her a lot recently, what with studying and Head duties. We got separated a minute ago, I was attempting to find her when I heard you."

Looking slightly putout, James said, "Oh, yeah, okay. Well, we're just going to Zonko's then." He turned around expecting to see Remus and Peter, but instead found himself staring at several passing third years. The duo had sneaked off during his conversation with Lily, he assumed.

Lily had all ready walked off, so he ran to catch up. He grabbed her hand to get her attention. "Hey, you didn't happen to see where Remus and Peter went, did you?"

"Um, no. Sorry," she replied vaguely. She was staring down at their entangled hands.

"Oh, sorry!" James supplied before releasing her hand.

"It's okay. It was nice," Lily said, a blush beginning to spread across her cheeks.

James stared at her, a sense of euphoria filling him, before Lily abruptly said, "I, uh, should go find my friends. I'll see you later." With a little wave, she turned away and walked in the direction of the Shrieking Shack.

James watched her walk away for a minute before slowly heading back to Hogwarts, completely forgetting about finding his friends or buying Dungbombs.

_A.N- Wah bam. A new chapter. Surprising, right? Luckily, I'm only looking at about 2-3 more chapters and there will be no more SUSPENSE. Because I always leave terrible cliff hangers. Yeah, I'm being sarcastic. I'm not skilled at the dramatic stuff, if you can't tell. :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter somewhat. It doesn't really have any substance, my apologies, but it's fluffy-ish AND WHO DOESN'T LOVE FLUFFY-ISH?Okay, I'm totally just rambling now. Cheerio, my dears._


	6. Chapter 6

On the following Sunday, the Gryffindor team had Quidditch practice. They ran through their regular drills without incident. In fact,.it was a normal practice for every member of the team except James. As everyone was heading into the locker rooms after practice, James was sure he saw a figure that greatly resembled Lily exiting the stadium. He was puzzled and surprised. Was it really Lily? He couldn't imagine her procrastinating studying to watch a Quidditch practice. Still, he was almost positive it was her. Nobody else walked with such grace or had such distinct red hair.

He was still mulling it over when Sirius caught up to him as he was walking back to the castle. "So, are you ready for tonight? I reckon we should try and steer clear of centaurs. I don't think they're ready to forgive me for peeing on one of them last time. Honestly, it's not like it was my fault. Who just stands in bushes? How was I supposed to know? It was dark! It's outrageous, really."

James laughed as he remembered seeing Sirius in dog form being chased by a group of angry centaurs. "I think you're probably right. Let's avoid them at all costs."

He was extremely excited for the full moon tonight, which he probably shouldn't mention to Remus. James knew that transforming into a werewolf was quite painful, and telling Remus that he was eager for it to happen would more than likely end with James getting cursed. He couldn't help it, though. Sometimes it was incredibly dull being Head Boy. Being trusted to set an example for younger students wasn't always fun. It meant he couldn't be caught pulling pranks, so he had to be twice as sly, which then left less opportunity to do them. With less opportunity, the number of pranks he had been able to participate in had dropped dramatically, leaving his life somewhat more monotonous compared to previous years. Of course, he figured it if cause Lily to realize he wasn't the immature, arrogant prick she had always thought he was, well, then it was worth it.

Later that night, as James was heading upstairs to get his Invisibilty Cloak so that he, Sirius, and Peter could sneak out of the castle to join Remus, he heard Lily call his name. He turned around and met her eyes. She blushed slightly and said simply, "Good night!"

He cheerfully grinned, and replied, "Thanks. Don't stay up all night studying!"

She smiled back and said, "I'll try not to."

* * *

At five in the morning, James, Sirius, and Peter sneaked back into the common room after a very fun, very entertaining night involving two unicorns and what they believed to be thestrals. The threesome threw off James's Invisibility Cloak as soon as the Fat Lady closed, not expecting anybody to be present in the room. To their surprise, Lily was there, slumped over her table, fast asleep. Sirius and Peter, who were unconcerned about anything but getting to bed immediately, ignored her and continued towards their dormitory. Instead of following them, James picked Lily up and carried her to the nearest couch. He quickly summoned a blanket from his bed, as she mumbled in her sleep. After she looked sufficiently tucked in and comfortable, he went up to his dormitory and climbed into his bed without undressing.

_A.N- Whatwhatwhat? Another chapter? So soon? Yeah, it really happened. Can you tell I'm getting sick of this story? 'Cause I am. It's a pretty crummy chapter, but oh well. I might come back and fix it some day. :)_


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